When “sciatic” type of symptoms won’t go away, what else can be considered as causes? Travell and Simons emphatically state that “Sciatica is a symptom, not a diagnosis; it’s cause should be identified.” (Vol II, p. 173) Here’s a list of things you can check. Structural asymmetries: Anything that makes one hip higher will cause […]
Marnie came to my Neuromuscular Therapy office near Boston with 35 years of “sciatica” type pain. Recently after kayaking, the pain had become really bad, bad enough that it was keeping her awake at night. Her symptoms were pain deep in her right side buttock with referral down her backside, into the side of her […]
This is a series on arm and hand pain causes. If you missed the beginning, go back to the Checklist. Treating arm and hand pain is an important part of my Neuromuscular Therapy practice near Boston. The extensor muscles are located on the back of the forearm (dorsum, like the dorsal fin of a fish) […]
This is Part 2 of a case study. If you missed the beginning, go back to the previous entry. Sidney K. responded well to two Neuromuscular Therapy sessions on the muscles of her low back and buttock in my treatment center near Boston. In the third treatment with her body calmer, emerged what I am […]
This is a series on low back pain. If you missed the summary of causes, go back to Part 1. Of all the muscles that cause low back pain, the quadratus lumborum is probably chief among them. This little muscle is under all the other low back muscles attaching to the bottom rib, the top […]
When patients come to my Neuromuscular Therapy center outside of Boston with a complaint of plantar fasciitis pain, I assume they have been medically diagnosed and treated. After checking the medical and treatment history for their foot pain, I think about their symptoms and about possible sources for the onset and perpetuation of the pain […]
For anyone with piriformis syndrome, restless leg syndrome, low back pain, hip pain, buttock pain, sciatica pain, thigh pain and back leg pain, these 5 specific stretches will help. If you feel discomfort or pain when you stretch, that’s the place that needs it. You won’t harm yourself even if it hurts if you stretch […]
According to Travell & Simons in their Trigger Point Manual, “In patients with chronic myofascial pain, attention to perpetuating factors often spells the difference between sucessful and failed therapy.” Perpetuating factors in the case of Krystal S. were an important consideration in reducing the need for continued treatment for restless leg syndrome at my Neuromuscular […]
Structurally, the low back is the lumbar spine (five vertebrae) and the sacrum (the triangular bone at the base of your spine below the waist) with the coccyx (tail bone) at the tip. The lumbar spine is curved to make an arch in the small of your back. It is built to support weight. The […]
In the case of Dave B.’s back pain from lifting, Neuromuscular Therapy treatment at my Metro-West Boston clinic was as follows: The first job was to flush the tissues. Metabolic waste products accumulate from the body’s automatic response to the injury as well as those from muscle hyperactivity. Presence of these wastes feel like the […]